Left For Dead [malec fanfiction] [complete]

Six: Stay Or Go

"So.....you watched our group in those houses today and you cut open our rice to make a trail back to the town so you can follow it?"

Magnus sighed heavily. "Yes. And then I climbed over the wall using the big tree as a ladder. Then I got caught by the kid-he's your brother, right? You should really should keep a better eye on him. He could kill someone."

"You're lucky he didn't," Isabelle smiled, her voice not quite matching the smile on her face. "My brother may be small, but don't underestimate him. He's been through a lot. That changes a person."

"Indeed," Magnus grumbled. "How long do I have to stay in here? I'm hungry. I would've been having a fine feed on tinned corn by now if I hadn't been caught."

Isabelle approached the cell door and leaned against it. "I'll try and bring back some food for you. Just stay put for now. It's not like you can go anywhere anyway."

She pat the iron bars with a hand before leaving. Magnus wanted to say something witty in response but nothing came to him. He could only focus on the hunger pains in his stomach and whatever was outside cooking, it smelled delicious.

Hours passed and the hunger never went away. It had grown dark outside and Magnus could hear rats moving around his small cell. It took all of his willpower not to grab one and snap it's neck and bite into it. He didn't want to come across as a monster to these people but then again, there were already monsters roaming about out there anyway. The dead came back to life. It didn't get any more monstrous than that.

The cell doors opened and Magnus heard footsteps in the dark. Straining to see, he saw the outline of a tall figure standing just a few feet from his prison. A light flared, a lamp, and the figure finally had a face in the dark.

"You held a knife on my brother," Alec said.

"He held a gun to me so I'd say we're even," Magnus retorted. "Why are you in here? Come to annoy the fuck out of me like your sister has? She talks too much."

Alec shook his head. "No. I came here to give you this."

Something was pushed into Magnus' cell. When Alec shone his lamp on it, Magnus saw that it was a plate of food. A slice of bread with some kind of meat and a glass of water. He attacked it immediately.

Alec pointed to the plate. "I figured you might be hungry so I put some of our dinner aside. It's not much-"

"It's perfect," Magnus said through a mouthful of food. "What kind of meat is it?"

Alec hesitated before answering. "Deer. We have a group here that are experts at hunting. My sister and I sometimes tag along if we aren't going out on runs for that day. We set up traps for smaller animals too."

Magnus gulped his water down in one swallow. "Been awhile since I had meat. Been living off tinned stuff for a long time."

Alec had now taken a seat on a chair that Magnus didn't even notice was there before. "How long....you know. How long have you been alone out there?"

Magnus stopped chewing to look up at Alec. The shadows on his face made his solumn expression look more angular and chiseled. Not that Magnus didn't like a chiseled man. It had just been a while since he last laid eyes on beautiful people. "A while. Since it began, maybe? I don't know. I wasn't keeping track."

"You spent five years alone? Are you serious?" Alec sounded half amazed, half shocked. "How is that even possible?"

"Easy," Magnus licked the plate to get the crumbs. "You just avoid them. See a human? Turn around and walk the other way."